History

colony

A territory under the political control of an outside power, it may be governed directly by the colonizing state and exploited for strategic or economic purposes.

colonialism

The practice of dominating and subordinating one people to another, commonly through direct political control, settlement, occupation, and economic exploitation. A ___ power can control another society’s land, labor, resources, and institutions.

Semi-colonialism

A condition in which a country retains a formally existing government but loses substantial control over its economy, territory, legal system, trade, or foreign relations to outside powers.

Colonization

The process of establishing and expanding control over another territory or population. It can involve settlement, conquest, the installation of colonial administration, and the reorganization of local economies.

Empire

A political system in which a central power rules over or exercises authority over multiple peoples or territories. They often contain diverse ethnic groups and unequal relationships between the center and its territories.

Semi-colonization

A condition in which a country retains a formally existing government but loses substantial control over its economy, territory, legal system, trade, or foreign relations to outside powers.

Decolonization

The process through which colonized territories gain independence from colonial rule and seek to reclaim political sovereignty. Formal independence does not necessarily end economic or political dependence on former colonial powers.

Imperialism

The broader exercise of power by one country over another, whether through direct conquest, settlement, political interference, economic pressure, or military influence; it can exist without formally annexing another country.

Sovereignty

A state's authority to govern itself, control its territory, make laws, regulate trade, and conduct foreign relations without outside powers overriding its decisions.

Unequal treaty

A treaty negotiated under unequal power conditions that grants the stronger party privileges the weaker party cannot negotiate on equal terms.

First Opium War

1839-1842: China was defeated by British superior forces after conflict over the opium trade and foreign commercial access.

global commodities

tea and opium

Canton System

Western powers were permitted to trade though this system; The Qing government's regulated system for foreign trade, particularly during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Western merchants were largely restricted to trading through Canton (modern Guangzhou), under licensed Chinese merchant intermediaries and within designated trading areas.

The system limited foreign merchants' access to Chinese society and restricted their activities. British merchants wanted greater access, while Chinese authorities sought to regulate foreign commerce.

Treaty of Nanking

altered the Canton system and marked the beginning of the treaty system; Ends the First Opium War and establishes major British privileges, including the cession of Hong Kong.

treaty system

replaced the tributary system; The network of treaties imposed on China by foreign powers, particularly after 1842. It expanded foreign commercial and legal privileges, opened treaty ports, and reduced China's independent control over trade and foreign relations.

Why it matters: It helped transform China from a state that regulated foreign commerce on its own terms into a semi-colonial country facing extensive foreign interference.

Perry’s missions to Japan

1853-1854: U.S. naval pressure leads Japan toward opening its ports to foreign ships.

Convention of Kanagawa

1854: Japan agrees to open designated ports to U.S. ships and establish official relations.

treaty port

A port city opened to foreign commerce under a treaty. They became centers of foreign trade, residence, and influence.

Tributary system

A hierarchical system of diplomatic and political relations centered on imperial China. Other states sent tribute and participated in diplomatic rituals acknowledging China's superior status, while retaining varying degrees of autonomy.

Westphalian system

A model of international relations based on the formal sovereignty and legal equality of states. In your notes, this contrasts with the hierarchical Chinese tributary system.

Why it matters: Foreign powers increasingly demanded that East Asian states operate within a European-style international order.

Foreign concession

An area within a city where a foreign power had special rights or administrative control. Concessions allowed foreign communities to exercise authority within Chinese territory.

Extraterritoriality

A legal privilege under which foreign nationals in China were subject to their own country's legal jurisdiction in specified circumstances rather than Chinese courts.

Significance: China could not exercise equal legal authority over everyone within its territory.

Tariff autonomy

A government's ability to independently set taxes on imported and exported goods. Foreign treaty privileges restricted China's ability to determine its own tariff rates.

Significance: Reduced tariff autonomy limited the government's economic independence and revenue options.

Indemnity

Money a state is required to pay another state as compensation, often after a war or imposed settlement. They could place heavy financial burdens on defeated countries.

Most-favored-nation status

A treaty provision that extends certain trade privileges granted to one foreign country to another country entitled to the same status. In the Chinese treaty system, this could allow foreign powers to benefit from concessions obtained by others.

features of China’s semi-colonial conditions under the treaty system

Loss of tariff autonomy

Extraterritoriality

Establishment of foreign concessions in treaty port cities

Indemnities

Most-favored nation status

Second Opium War

1856–1860: Britain and France wage another war against Qing China. Anglo-French forces later destroy the Yuanmingyuan, or Old Summer Palace, in 1860

Yuanmingyuan

the Garden Mansion was destroyed by Anglo-French forces

Treaty of Kangwha

1876: Japan forces Korea to open its ports under an unequal treaty. An unequal treaty that declared Korea to be an independent country rather than a subordinate vassal state w/in China’s tributary system; weakened China's traditional influence over Korea while expanding Japan's.

First Sino-Japanese War

1894-1895: Japan defeated China, demonstrating the consequences of the two countries' different paths of military and institutional modernization, and gained Taiwan through the Treaty of Shimonosek

Boxer Rebellion

1900: demonstrated the extent to which foreign powers challenged China’s sovereignty, and contributed to China’s semi-colonial condition by the end of the 19th century

Eight-Nation

allied troops from (insert countries) occupied Beijing after they lifted the siege on the foreign legation

sakoku

closed country, a Eurocentric interpretation of Japan’s relationship w/ the outside world before Commodore Matthew Perry’s missions to Japan in 1853 and 1854

Tokugawa Japan restricted trade w/ European countries except:

the Dutch, who were permitted to trade through Nagasaki

Tokugawa Japan maintained trade relations w/ …?

China, Korea, and the Ryukyo Kingdom

19th-century America wanted Japan to open its ports to 1) ___ and 2) ___

1) support the American whaling industry 2) bring Christianity to the Japanese people

Gunboat diplomacy

The use or threat of military force—especially naval power—to pressure another country into accepting diplomatic or commercial demands.

Example: Commodore Matthew Perry's U.S. missions to Japan in 1853–1854.

Industrialization

The development of large-scale machine-based production, factories, and modern transportation and communication systems, it could increase economic output while also transforming military power.

Significance: Japan's rapid industrial and military development helped it defeat China and Russia.

Ryukyu Kingdom

A kingdom in the region of modern Okinawa that maintained connections with both Japan and China and served as an intermediary in regional relations.

Yangban

The Korean elite class that held major political, social, and administrative privileges during the Joseon period.

Hanja

Chinese characters used historically in Korean writing.

Hangul

The Korean alphabetic writing system, developed under King Sejong in the fifteenth century. It later became an important marker of Korean linguistic and national identity.

Confucianism

A philosophical and ethical tradition emphasizing social order, hierarchy, moral conduct, education, and obligations within relationships. It shaped East Asian political and social institutions.

Orientalist stereotype

A representation of Asian societies as exotic, backward, static, or uncivilized in contrast with an allegedly advanced West. This prepares the ground for the deeper concept of Orientalism in Module 2.

After China’s defeat to the British in the First Opium War, Japan understood that …

The Tokugawa shogunate had little chance of resisting the American naval power and agreed to sign the treaty w/ the U.S. to open it’s ports to the West

Japan opening its ports to the West 1)___ and 2)___

1) undermined the shogunate’s authority over Japan’s daimyo (regional feudal lords) and 2) added to the growing political causes —> contributed to the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868

Japan learned an important lesson from China’s defeat:

to survive in a world increasingly shaped by Western imperialism and colonialism, Japan needed to build a modern military and strengthen the state

Russo-Japanese War

1904-1905: Japan defeated Russia and establishes itself as a major imperial power.

Hermit Kingdom

Western perception of Korea in the 19th century which

Korea’s connections in the 19th century

China’s tributary system throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties AND a connection w/ Tokugawa Japan through the Tsushima domain

in the 2nd half of the 19th century…

Western powers (including Russia, France, Germany, and the U.S.) arrived on Korea’s shores and attempted to open the country to foreign trade by force

1866 anti-Catholic purges

The Korean government persecuted Catholics amid fears of foreign influence.

1866 French Campaign

France intervened following the killing of French missionaries.

General Sherman Incident

1866: A U.S. merchant ship entered Korean waters; Korean forces destroyed the vessel and killed its crew. The incident contributed to later U.S. military action.

Oppert Incident

1868: German businessman Ernst Oppert attempted to obtain the remains of a Korean royal relative. The attempt failed and intensified Korean hostility toward foreign intrusions.

1871 U.S. expedition

U.S. forces attacked Korean fortifications following the General Sherman incident.

Who ruled on behalf of King Kojong?

Taewongun

When did Taewongun rule Korea?

from 1864 to 1873

Taewongun resisted…

Western incursions through military force

How did Taewongun use Korea’s connection to China?

He used Korea’s status within China’s tributary system to avoid direct negotiations w/ Western powers

What did Japan do to Korea in 1876?

Japan forced Korea to open its ports, leading to the signing of the Treaty of Kangwha

Who convinced Korea to sign the Treaty of Kangwha?

Qing China

Who forced Korea to sign what treaty, and with who?

Qing China forced Korea to sign the Regulations for Maritime and Overland Trade bw Korean and Qing Subjects with Japan

What did China do in Korea?

China sent it’s envoy Yuan Shikai to station in Seoul to strengthen Chinese influence over Korea

Which 2 countries competed and why?

China and Japan for influence and control over Korea

Where did the competition between China and Japan lead to?

It led to the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), which ended in China’s defeat

Who asked what country to “help”?

Korean King Kojong asked Russia to counter Japan’s growing influence and encroachment in Korea

What contributed to the Russo-Japanese War?

The rivalry between Russia and Japan

What did Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War represent?

Japan’s victory in this war marked the first time an Asian nation defeated a major European power in the modern era?

What did Japan’s victory over Russia allow Japan to do?

It allowed it to annex Korea

Annexation of Korea

1910: Korea loses formal independence and becomes a Japanese colony after Japan wins the Russo-Japanese War.

Modernity

The condition, quality, or social experience of being considered modern; is associated with secularism, individualism, belief in progress, capitalism, industrialization, urbanization, and mass consumption and culture.

Modernization

The process of transforming a society's political, economic, military, social, or technological institutions. It can involve industrial development, a centralized government, new education systems, railways, modern armies, and new legal structures.

Example: Japan's Meiji-era reforms, which transformed the military, economy, government, and education system.

Westernization

The adoption of Western practices, institutions, technologies, values, or cultural styles. It may accompany modernization, but the two concepts are not identical.

Example: Japan's adoption of Western-style clothing at the imperial court and a constitutional framework influenced by European models.

Tradition

Inherited beliefs, practices, institutions, and values that a society maintains and transmits over time. They can provide identity and political legitimacy, but leaders may also change or reinterpret them.

Example: Qing reformers sought to use Western military technology while preserving Confucian political and social principles.

Secularization

The process through which religion loses some of its influence over political institutions, public life, or social organization. It does not necessarily mean that individuals stop being religious.

Secularism

The principle that political institutions and public authority should operate independently of religious authority. In discussions of modernity, it is often treated as one feature of modern societies, though this association can be challenged.

Individualism

An emphasis on the individual as a distinct person with personal interests, identity, choices, and rights. This can contrast with social arrangements that prioritize hierarchy, family obligations, or collective duties.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual movement particularly associated with eighteenth-century Europe that emphasized reason, scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and the possibility of social and political improvement.

Important figures in your notes: John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, and Montesquieu.

Rationality

The use of reason, logic, and systematic analysis to justify decisions or organize institutions. Colonial powers often presented their economic, political, and religious systems as ___, using this claim to portray other societies as inferior.

Teleological view of modernity

The belief that history moves toward a predetermined final destination, or telos. In this interpretation, societies supposedly advance through a single sequence from primitive to traditional to advanced to modern.

Critique: It treats one particular historical pathway as inevitable and universal, rather than recognizing different forms of social development.

Eurocentrism

The tendency to treat European history, values, and institutions as the universal standard for understanding the world.

Critique: Eurocentric accounts may overlook how Western wealth and industrialization depended partly on colonialism, slavery, and the exploitation of other regions. They can also portray non-Western societies as belonging to the past even when those societies exist in the same historical present.

Orientalism

A way of representing the “Orient”—a broad category historically applied to Asian and Middle Eastern societies—as the opposite of the West: exotic, irrational, backward, static, or uncivilized.

In your notes, it is more than an individual stereotype. It is a system of representation that helps Europe define itself as rational, advanced, and superior by constructing another region as its opposite.

Why it matters: These representations can make colonial domination appear necessary or beneficial, as if imperial powers are simply bringing civilization to supposedly inferior societies.

Social Darwinism

The application of a distorted evolutionary “survival of the fittest” framework to human societies and nations. It was used to suggest that stronger nations naturally deserved to dominate weaker ones.

Important distinction: This is not an accurate representation of Charles Darwin's emphasis on the natural world. This became a justification for competition, imperial expansion, and claims of racial or national superiority.

Bunmei kaika

A Japanese expression meaning “civilization and enlightenment.” It refers to the Meiji-era push toward new institutions, knowledge, technologies, and cultural practices associated with Western models.

Datsu-A Ron

Associated with Japanese intellectual Fukuzawa Yukichi's argument that Japan should distance itself culturally and politically from Asia and align itself with the West. It illustrates how modernization could become linked to a belief that Japan needed to separate itself from neighboring societies to become powerful.

Ti-Yong (foundation and application)

The principle behind China's Self-Strengthening Movement: Chinese learning should remain the foundation, while Western learning should be used for practical application.

Meaning: China could adopt Western weapons, industrial technologies, and communication systems without fundamentally replacing its existing political and social order. The difficulty was that military and technological borrowing could not be completely separated from institutional and cultural change.

Self-Strengthening Movement

1860-1895: “Chinese learning as the foundation, Western learning for practical application”

What did China’s Self-Strengthening Movement mean?

while China was open to learning from the West, its technologies in the military, industry, and communication, it was not going to reform political and social institutions along Western lines 

What country sent students to the West?

China

What caused the Qing government to end the study abroad program?

The students became too interested in Western culture

Why did the Self-Strengthening Movement fail?

After the Qing’s new navy was sunk by the Japanese navy in the Sino-Japanese War

100 days reform in 1898

ended by Empress Dowager Cixi; China's reformers attempt a more comprehensive modernization program, but Cixi's conservative coup reverses most of the reforms.

What did China’s reformists elite want?

They wanted the Guangxu Emperor to adopt more thorough reform

What reform proved to be most fatal?

The abolition of the civil service exam in 1905, which helped the Qing fall in 1911

Meiji Emperor became…

a symbol of Japanese modernization and Westernization

What were the types of reforms that Japan underwent?

Economic, industrial, political, judicial and cultural reforms

Where was Japan’s main treaty port?

In Yokohama

Meiji Restoration was ___ in its original slogan ___

conservative, “Sonno Joi” (revere the emperor and expel the barbarians)

The Meiji Restoration slogan was neither ____ nor ___

western-oriented, modern-oriented